Category: Celebrations

For my daughter’s 5th birthday we decided to deviate a bit from the typical birthday party. Instead of a big party with family and friends, we decided to have a small weekend away and celebrate with just our own immediate family of 4, plus my sister and her husband. My daughter loves hotels and loves swimming, so a weekend in Calgary with a stay at a family friendly hotel seemed the perfect way to celebrate her big day.

December 13 is National Hot Cocoa day and to celebrate I am sharing an easy Hot Cocoa & Coffee Bar I put out for our house guests last Holiday season.

For my Hot Cocoa & Coffee Bar, I decided to set everything up on the counter right beside our coffee maker. I wanted it to be easy to access, and for my guests to feel welcome to help themselves to a warm, festive drink at any time.

To put everything together, I began by gathering my Christmas mugs and a nice tray with a few glass jars and bottles. The coffee K-cups all went in a large glass vase and I wrapped my store-bought container of hot chocolate mix in some candy cane striped gift wrap to make it look pretty. My chalkboard Santa worked perfectly to decorate the space and urge everyone to “Grab a Cup, Warm Right Up”.

For my different stir-ins and toppings, I went with crushed candy canes, marshmallows, Skor bits and some Irish Cream for the adults. I also included some red and white striped paper straws for stirring, and small wrapped chocolates for an extra sweet treat. For an open house or party, a gift wrapped can of whipped cream would be another great addition.

The bar went over well with our guests and I loved having it available for my own morning drink throughout the Holiday Season. I really enjoyed the touch of peppermint flavour the crushed candy canes provided to my morning cup of coffee and my kids loved their cups of hot chocolate with the fun snowman shaped marshmallows I found in the food market at Ikea.

It has been very quiet here on my blog the past couple months. We got so busy camping, swimming and having fun with friends this summer that all plans for new posts kind of went to the wayside. One thing I knew I couldn’t skip out on planning, however, was our annual ice cream social with the neighbours. Continue reading “Pop Party”→

Today marks 100 days on our countdown to our Walt Disney World trip. We celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary earlier this month and will (finally) be going back to Walt Disney World this November to celebrate. A lot can change in a decade, so I am very excited to go back and see what is new in the parks and experience it all again with our kids. Continue reading “Our Disney Wedding: Remembering the Mishaps and the Magic”→

We recently celebrated my daughter’s 5th birthday and the birthday girl requested a Moana themed party. Even though we planned a very small family celebration, I love a good theme and can’t help myself from coming up with a few DIY projects to set the scene and make her day extra special. Continue reading “Moana Party Inspiration: DIY Kakamora Cups”→